Understanding the special nutritional requirements of ferrets can help ensure that the lovable little critters have a long and healthy life.

With their slinky bodies and high metabolic rate, active ferrets have distinct nutritional needs. Those razor-sharp teeth give a good indication of what ferrets are designed to eat: meat. 
Ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means they must have meat everyday or they don’t do well.  For ferrets, their food is the basis of their lives.

Their sleek tubular bodies have a short digestive tract, and food passes through much more quickly than in other pets.  For a cat, for example, it takes six to eight hours from eating, until excreting; for a ferret, it is about half that time, three to four hours.  That means the food must be quickly broken down and assimilated to provide the maximum benefit.

Ferrets must have high quality animal protein- 34 to 38 percent of the food’s total.  They need a minimum of 18 to 19 percent high quality fat, more than any other pet.  They don’t have a cecum, so they can’t digest the fiber of corn gluten, flour or soy protein.

Cat food will just not do.  We need to understand that the unique physiology of ferrets means they have unique requirements for a proper diet.  Unfortunately many people are still using cat food instead of a high quality diet especially formulated for ferrets.  Even though cat food is easier to purchase and cheaper in price it is the wrong food and ferrets can’t properly digest it.  When you feed the wrong food, you have an unhappy, unhealthy animal with more trips to the veterinarian and health care bills.

Ferrets who aren’t getting the proper nutrition in their diet will often exhibit signs of deficiencies, including lethargy, a rough thin coat, dry scaly skin, dull eyes, thin shoulders and a pot belly if there is a protein deficiency.
The payoff for feeding premium ferret food comes when you see how healthy your pet is, with sleek fur, good skin, bright eyes and clean teeth. Ferret experts recommend free feeding, because with such a fast metabolism a ferret will naturally eat 7 to 10 small meals a day rather than once or twice a day like a dog or cat.

Vitamins and minerals are important also.  With a short digestive tract, ferrets need higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals than other pets.  But that doesn’t mean they should eat fruits and vegetables.  Ferret’s can’t break down the fiber, and the fructose in fruits may cause digestive upsets, loose stools and dental problems.

Ferrets are natural beggars, so you may want to feed occasional treats.  Choosing treats that are wholesome and nutritious is important, rather than offering junk-food type treats that can interfere with the animal’s appetite or lead to problems with obesity.  Treats should never exceed more than 10 percent of the ferret’s daily diet

Supplements aren’t really necessary when using a high quality ferret food.  Some vitamins are more residual than others and can cause toxicity if given too much.  Although a little dab on the fur or a treat can distract your ferret when it is time for nail trimming or ear cleaning.

With proper nutrition supplied by high quality ferret-specific food, those active little furballs are wriggling their way to a longer and healthier life.

Information available from Kathy Johnston and Tom Willard PhD

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